A chance in the rain
by JennLeeMarie
Summary: Edward is having a bad day, he meets a happy Bella who makes him change his ways. Will he allow himself to be happy?


**A/N this is just part of a story I originally wrote for a writing course and have since changed the characters to Bella and Edward. Its completely OOC and AH. I own nothing, the character's are Stephanie's. Enjoy xx**

A chance in the Rain.

It felt as if the world had just stopped. A slight pause in the fabric of time. A moment so minute that others were oblivious to. In that instance his whole life had crashed down around him. He had strived to get to where he was in life and in that simple flash it had been taken away from him.

If Edward Cullen had anything going for him in his life it was his job at a pretentious promotions firm. If there was one constant in his life it was his drive and ambition to better himself. He remembered how his life had begun and was determined to change. From the age of twelve he was going to succeed at anything and everything he set his mind to. Whilst everything in his life fell by the wayside, he kept a firm grasp on his dreams and ambition, however primitive they may have appeared.

So why was he standing on the old bridge, staring into oblivion at ten thirty in the morning? He had never seen the city like this. The rain thundered on around him. It splashed up from the river and made new puddles on the banks. He heard the rumblings of the busy city at work, but they seemed so much more distant than he was used to. The city was blanketed in a rain-filled haze that was usual for December. He marveled at the way the water gushed towards the left bank of the river close to the other bridge, the roaring gurgle as the water rushed along and bumped over hidden rocks. He watched the child on the right bank throwing bread at ducks without a care in the world. He wondered if things would have been different if someone had taken him to feed the ducks.

Well now was not the time to sit around and think of the past. Now was the time to figure out what to do in the present to ensure that he was able to have a future. He knew his mind was on the verge of whirling into gear and then he was abruptly stopped in his tracks.

'You know life isn't so bad. Ever thought of just smiling at what you see?'A little voice, as light as a feather, caressed his ears and pulled on his breaks.

He turned to the voice that had taken him off guard. Oh great, he thought, why can't people leave him alone? He looked at her and she was cute a lot smaller than him, which wasn't too difficult if you counted his six foot four frame. But even so she couldn't have been more than an inch or two over 5 foot and it was possible that the inch was made up of a mass of unruly brunette curls. He tried to dismiss the way her cute button nose accentuated her soft round cheeks, the warm chocolate colour of her eyes and her bow-like lips and answer her questions.

'Uh… What? Sorry…' _wow when did I lose his ability to form coherent sentences?_ He thought momentarily.

'I just think that you standing here looking all sad and stuff, you're just better off seeing the positives that are around you'. She was perky, he could say that about her at least, but she didn't know him and making vast assumptions that he wanted to talk to her was annoying.

'You know nothing about me so will you just leave me be? Can you not see when a guy is wallowing in self pity' His words came out tersely. The way her button nose scrunched up in hurt and her soft brown eyebrows furrowed slightly, he was aware his words had the destined effect.

'Well I am sorry I interrupted your little pity party! You just looked like you could do with a friend is all. But with an attitude like that I doubt you even have friends!' She was angry and he knew that it was his fault and for a moment he felt bad for his rudeness. However it was something that she had said that had stung him. This strange and vibrant girl had taken a shot at him and unintentionally wounded him a lot more deeply than she would have intended. _Friends, _he thought was a risk he was never willing to take. Friends could leave you high and dry at the drop of a hat. If family could do that and they had ties to you, then what was to stop someone else? No having a friend was something he wouldn't tolerate to have.

He watched her storm off, the niggling feeling in the pit of his stomach gnawed at him to make her stop. He liked the way she looked as she was billowed away with her angry stomps created by the mass amount of fabric clothing she wore. He assumed they were all fair-trade hippy goodies bought at one of those little shops he had seen around the city. Through all his misery at his lot in life and his current lack of prospects, he was curious about her. He wanted to know more about her. Why had she stopped to talk to him? Without consulting his brain his feet moved towards her.

'Hey wait look I'm sorry!' He shouted after her. Even though he had been the ultimate jackass to her she amazed him by stopping. The annoyance was splashed across her face as she whipped her main of curls around to look at him.

'Ok, come with me?' She enquired of him. He looked at her and her pesky happy, fun-loving attitude that seemed to roll off her like waves. Where did she want him to go? His heart said go but his head said no. His head usually won. It was easier that way. His heart had been under lock and key for so long he had forgotten how to use it.

Her hand was outstretched towards him and the look of persuasion nestled deep within her brows. He looked at the gesture for a split second and opted just to walk along side her instead. She was a stranger who had an unnatural gift of making him acquiesce to her whims and foibles. She smiled at him and raced toward the nearest bank of the river where a bunch of rowing boats were lined up in vivid shades of red, orange and blue. As quick as a flash she had paid the owner the privilege of renting one of the rickety tin boats and was quickly trying to get Edward into a boat.

'Come on' she urged, 'Have you never just wanted to go crazy and jump in one of these and see how far your legs get you?'

'No and frankly getting into a boat with a crazy hippy who I know nothing about and who knows nothing about me sounds utterly ludicrous.' His voice was tense and to the girl it would seem that his reticence was due to his stuffy appearance. He knew the real reason for this sudden tension wasn't to do with getting his $300 suit damp, but with letting go and enjoying himself.

As a teenager he had watched families hire one of these boats in the summer and laugh and joke as they raced each other up and down the river. He had stood and longed to be able to have someone to do that with and now here was his opportunity and it simply frightened him.

'Well ok then my name is Bella Swan and I am 24 years old and I work in the old bookshop. Is that enough info for you or are you just going to stare at the boat in fear all day?'

He stepped uneasily onto the boat and sat in the nearest seat. It was one thing to get damp from the rain and the wet seats, but it was an entirely different thing to falling into the Dee. She smiled at him in a smug way. A smile that says she thinks she has won him over. She hasn't yet but the cracks in his defensive wall started getting bigger.

'Go on then start pedaling!' She seemed to beam with life, she was so happy and it puzzled him because she seemed to want his company. He did as he was told, he pedaled whilst she tried to steer. There were a few near misses where she would over steer and they would hit the nearest bank or startle some poor swans. Instead of his usual reaction to someone's mistakes he felt himself smile and even chuckle at the brightly dressed hippy sat close to him.

'My name is Edward Cullen. I am 34 years old and as of this morning I'm unemployed.'

'Wow that explains the grumpy look you've been sporting and the doom and gloom attitude.' She noted. She was teasing him; mocking him when he was at his lowest and he didn't mind.

'Yeah' he retorted, 'it kinda takes it out of you when you've done the same job for the past 13 years only for it to all crash down around you. Really makes you feel glum.' His tone of sarcasm wasn't entirely clever but it made him feel better. What was she trying to do, kick a dog when he is down? Then he felt it, the small hand on his knee as a gesture of comfort. It felt odd to him. The only time someone did that to him was when they were about to deliver some bad news to him.

There was a moment when he just stared at her hand before looking into her eyes, there was a glint of pity and it felt wrong. He believed her eyes should always sparkle with mischief and vibrancy. So he smiled at her and told her that it was time to get the boat back.

'So where to next o wise lady?' He teased her and it made her smile. He liked that; liked how it was possible for him to make someone smile.

'Let's go through the city.' She states and it makes him groan.

'Don't you know that it is nearly Christmas and the streets will be filled with last minute shoppers? You know it is going to be too busy to try and walk. What's the point I have already seen the city on numerous occasions.' He was beginning to moan and felt bad for it. She really didn't have to spend her free time with a complete stranger like him.

'Have you ever just watched people going by? I have this thing I like to do; I buy myself some doughnuts from the kiosk and then stand and watch the people milling about in the street and then give them stories.'

In the time she had been talking they had walked closer towards the city unknowingly. He bought her the doughnuts. Even though she had protested that out of the two of them she was the only one employed. They talked about the different types of people, giving them stories and even pretending to be their voices. Bella told him that he was being too stereotypical and that he should try to think outside the box. She gave an old lady with a walking stick some fantastical story about her secretly own a fortune that she got through a poker game with some Russian billionaires.

He felt himself become freer and able to talk openly with her. He found himself telling her about his past; how his mother died when he was just twelve. He never knew his father and so was passed on through foster care. He told her about Tanya, the love of his life who ripped his heart out. He told her things he would never have told anyone else. She didn't pass judgment but just listened to him, tried to understand who he really was and it felt easy talking to her like that.

'Look I know it's not much but there is a job going at the book shop if you really think you need a job, but in all honesty I think you just need to take time to figure out who you are.' Bella advised him. "I bet today, on the boat when we nearly crashed, I bet that was the first time you really laughed in a long time." She was right and it had felt good.

'You are right my crazy little lady. I will take some time out and you could do one more favor for me. Go to dinner one night with me?' He was attempting to be suave and failing miserably if her giggles were anything to go by.

'Of course I will. You name the time and place and I will be there.'

After arrangements were made, he walked off to the subway and towards his apartment feeling a little lighter than he did that morning. Feeling like the Edward Cullen he used to be before he let himself become bitter and twisted towards the world. He would keep his promise to Bella and eventually work at the used bookshop. Although the money wasn't great and it wasn't the greatest business venture he had ever made, he was finally content with his lot in life.


End file.
